ETA: The contest is over! Thanks for all who entered and good luck! Winners, expect an email from me no later than Sunday.

Alrighty. So while I was away with the technical difficulties, Cortney from Shop Translated emailed me to ask if I’d be doing a Cyber Monday post, and if so, here, take a coupon code for your readers!

Y’all, I’d intended on doing a Cyber Monday post, and getting an extra coupon code just for y’all? All over it!

Except I got the email too late for Cyber Monday. But, Cortney is really sweet and has extended the coupon code till January 1, 2010. Enter in “hydeandseek25” (minus the quotes) at checkout to save an extra 25% off your purchase. Naturally, I’ve already scoped out the dress I want. It’s this lovely number from the INES line:

I'm all over the purple this season, folks.

Now, it is cold up here. Cold. As in, it SNOWED up here, cold. And all I want is a sleeveless dress. Only me. I’ll probably pair it with a cardigan, belt, tights, and some flats or boots so I don’t freeze to death.

Now, if y’all like that dress up there, y’all should enter to win it! Or any other piece on the site. That’s right folks: The first Hyde and Seek giveaway! Cortney has two pieces avaliable for y’all to win. Which ones? That’s the beauty: you get to pick! The only stipulation: it cannot be from the new arrivals. But anything else is up for grabs.

Here are the rules: to enter, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post that answers this question: “What is your favorite piece, or type, of clothing?” Here, I’ll get y’all started:

I have a thing about pajamas. Since I was a little girl, I’ve always loved them. From the little feety pajamas to night gowns and everything in between, I love pajamas. Last weekend, when I managed to save a ton of money on a winter coat, I stuck my head into Lane Bryant during their 40% off sale to see what I could see. I could have used some jeans and work clothes and some going out clothes…nope. Gravitated towards pajamas, which I have not bought for some time. So after some deliberation, I chose a purple plaid chemise and these:

All the better to watch James Bond in!

I am such a huge James Bond fan (and yes, I prefer my martinis shaken and not stirred), it just made sense for me to get these. Love them!

So, what about y’all? Tell me about your favorite piece or type of clothing, and be entered to win! You have until midnight (eastern standard time) on Friday, December 11 to get your comment in. I’ll use a random number generator to pick the two winners; they’ll be notified on Saturday. Please, please, please make sure you leave a valid email address with your comment, because that’s how I’ll contact you to get your information should you win.

…for technological problems. Y’all, my internet has been broken, then my computer was wonky…all this to say, I managed to be blacked out during the best shopping weekend of the year.

But no worries, I still got some good things up my sleeve for y’all. There’s some giveaways in the works that I’m super excited to share with y’all. More is coming, stay tuned. (And by hook or by crook, I’m gonna make sure it actually makes it on the blog!)

It’s also that time of year where you sometimes find yourself having to explain to, ahem, well meaning friends and family why you are not on a diet, why you don’t want any of their tips, and yes, you are indeed going to eat all of that.

It’s the holidays, y’all. I can feel the excitement coming through the screen.

There was a time when I was younger that I found myself dreading this time of year. Yeah, lights and trees and presents were all good, but I didn’t want to go to dinner. Ok, that’s not true. I definitely wanted dinner. I wanted a couple of plates, because this was the only time of year Great-Aunt G would make her apple pie, and let me tell you…that pie could end wars, man. I didn’t want dinner with family that scrutinized everything that went on my plate. I always had a well-meaning great aunt or uncle asking if I was really gonna eat all that food. Did I really want all that starch on my plate? Aren’t I gonna save some room for later?

Ugh. Most people look forward to being able to eat what they want and as much of it, because the holidays are a time of indulgence and pleasure. Me? I just wanted to go to one holiday dinner and not feel like all eyes are on me when I went to the kitchen for a glass of water. I know some of y’all out there have endured (and continue to endure) this same agony. My awesome mother (who was the subject of the same scrutiny) found a way to solve the problem: she made a meal for us at home. That way, I could eat the one plate of food in front of the family (and then get praised for being “so good!” as the offending family member ambled to the kitchen for more dressing), and thoroughly enjoy my dinner at home where I wouldn’t be bothered.

But I always felt bad about that. Why did we have to hide? I should be able to eat my meal without shame, especially this time of year, but that’s not always the case. I always felt like I needed to have some license to eat my food and enjoy it, and that’s extremely sad. Yet, it’s how it went on for years.

This year, since going home wasn’t in the budget, I spent Thanksgiving with all of my friends. BuddingStarlet and I cooked tons of food and we had a full house until about two in the morning (I had to tap out around midnight; I had to work the next day.) We all had multiple plates of food, complimented each other on our favorite dishes, and in general had an amazing time.

Food has always been an integral part of my life. My maternal grandmother was a pastry chef, and she passed that love of baking on to me. For me, the holidays isn’t just about eating yummy food, or even the cooking of yummy food (although it’s one of my favorite things to do), it’s about sharing it. I’m thankful to her for introducing me to cooking, and how to make sure everything I make has love in it. I’m thankful to my mother for doing her best to keep my morale up when faced with some irritating family members. And finally, I’m thankful this year about having friends who I love enough to cook for and share a meal with, and that don’t give me any grief for eating as much as I want.

And my wish for all of you, my dear readers, would be that all of you are able to have love and peace of mind this holiday season. It’s late, but Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.

So, the holidays are upon us once again, and it’s all about visiting with friends and family. You want to look fabulous, naturally. As for me, the budget is too tight to make it home to Texas to see my mom, so BuddingStarlet and I are entertaining at our spot.

Y’all, I fell in love when I saw it online, and when I got it in the mail earlier this week, I fell in love again. The dress is a beautiful aubergine color, and the embroidery isn’t metallic. It’s a golden tan. It has the sash to cinch it, and for those of us who are not a fan of the trapeze dress, you’re gonna need that sash. The fit is amazing. Now, my boobs are not on Rack of doom status, so whenever I get a wrap dress or some trapeze dresses, they never fit in the boob area. It’s usually a sad, flat area. But now when you order, you can provide your bra size (and height, and other measurements too; it’s a bit extra to get that done) to get a great fit. This dress fits my boobs perfectly, and when it’s perfectly cinched, it looks gorgeous. I even had them shorten it a bit, so that it hits right at the knee instead of the standard below the knee length. Now, I may not actually use the sash. I love the embroidery so much, I think I may get myself a bronze belt instead, and some cute little bronze flats like this from Target:

Bronzed slippers

I love a heel, but since my job is the cooking (BuddingStarlet is decorating) I don’t need my feet screaming for mercy before the guests arrive. I’ll do simple, natural makeup. In fact, if y’all are up for some luxe makeup, head over to Urban Decay (y’all know how I feel about Urban Decay). They’re currently having their friends and family promotion; 30% off your order from November 9-20. Enter code FNFW1 at checkout. Luxe not in the budget? I understand. Y’all know how I love me some Eyes Lips Face, right? Oh, and Payless has their BOGO going on, so stop in and grab yourself some cute flats, or heels…or slippers. Y’all know I love to spread the sales around!

So, I’ve been absent for some time. I don’t think I realized how time consuming retail is during the holiday season. Or how angry customers can be.

Yeah.

Outside of that, I’ve had some other projects I’ve been working on. I’ve got a cookbook in the works. I don’t have an agent or anything yet, just an idea and a pile of recipes I’ve been trying to make some sense of. I might post some of the potential ones here, if y’all don’t mind my experimenting on y’all. 🙂

I’ve also signed on to help BuddingStarlet edit her first novel she’s got in the works. More on this good news as it develops.

My co-blogger passed all of her classes last semester with flying colors! Woo!

Now that’s all out of the way, on to bloggy business. I have about three posts or so in the works: one health related, and two shopping related (yay clothing reviews!). And since I’ll be doing a bit of traveling this year, I’ll be doing some airplane related pieces as well.

One of my resolutions this year was to dedicate more time to doing things I love. So, expect to see much more of me in 2009 than you saw in 2008! Anything you want to see me tackle this year? You know the deal: drop me a line in the comments or send me an email.

I have been very busy these past couple of weeks. I’ve finally decided on school (when I send the application, I’ll expand on that a bit more), I’ve been working extra hours (yay more money to live on and save!), and all in all, I’ve been having some major happy body days. It’s all been coming up lovely at FashionableNerd central, y’all. How have y’all been? Feels like I haven’t spoken to y’all in a month of Sundays!

Now, tomorrow, I go to finally buy my bridesmaid’s gown. I’ll be going to David’s Bridal, and hopefully I won’t have any problems, be it from the salespeople or my diet-mind. Something about trying on formal gowns just sends it into overdrive. But my mom will be there with me, so I’m sure I’ll be ok. Deep breaths.

Last night I witnessed history. I thought I’d have more to say about it than that, but I’m still kinda speechless and spellbound by the speech and the man who delivered it. I am so excited to be old enough to appreciate a Black man running for President, and excited that he is really and truly a viable candidate. And while I won’t be voting for her running mate, I’m excited that Sarah Palin, a woman (!) is running for VP on the Republican side. I’m being positive today, so the fact that I think that McCain is pandering? That’s gonna have to wait till next week, during the Republican National Convention.

Besides a wonderful bit of feminisim coming in that McCain post (and y’all know IntellectualFeminist will have PLENTY to say on that), I’ve got some other things in the works for y’all. Since things around here are settling into a more manageable rhythm, I’ll be able to post much, much more, especially about the election, racism, and of course, my raison d’etre, fat.

So, to end this rambly, disjointed update post: sales! In the States, it’s Labor Day Weekend, and that means sales for everybody. Lane Bryant has an awesome sale going on, as does Macy’s. Looking for an awesome makeup sale? Hard Candy has everything for 50% off. Need some sweet-smelling soaps and lotions? Head over to Bath and Body Works for their Labor Day sale.

Ok, that’s it from this end. If shopping goes well, y’all will probably see me Tuesday, if not, I’ll be back tomorrow. Have a great weekend!